Rites of Triangulation in Moses Isegawa’s Abyssinian Chronicles

The relationship between the novel and the nation continues to vex theorists as spatial categories shift and evolve around the globe. Moses Isegawa’s Abyssinian Chronicles, a novel with much acclaim but little critical attention, speaks to this relationship and suggests that the contemporary novel can serve as a vehicle for unmapping the nation. This paper argues that Isegawa’s text transcends formal and geographical boundaries, respatializing the coming-of-age text by creating a protagonist who embodies a migrational spatial practice. In particular, it looks at the novel’s final two books, “Triangular Revelations” and “Ghettoblaster,” and claims that Abyssinian Chronicles replaces the rite of incorporation with a rite of triangulation comprised of ongoing mobility and a dynamic and deconstructive cartographical approach. This approach accounts for the cartographical disjunctions of the contemporary era and serves as a rejoinder to the imperialist and interventionist maps imposed on the continent in earlier periods.